Virginia Tech To Open 2028 Season Against Gardner-Webb

Gardner-Webb will be the fourth FCS school that the Hokies have played in as many years when the two schools face off in August 2028.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech football announced Friday morning that it has scheduled a matchup with Gardner-Webb for August 26, 2028 — the first-ever matchup between the Hokeis and the Runnin' Bulldogs. At the time of writing, Virginia Tech's 2028 slate features seven home games for the third time since the 2020 season.

Adding one to the future slate ✅

🏈 @HokiesFB vs. Gardner-Webb
🗓️ Aug. 26, 2028
🏟️ Lane Stadium

➡️ https://t.co/L0mfaYx6J2 pic.twitter.com/OavKIcVhXa

— HokieSports (@hokiesports) August 28, 2026

Gardner-Webb is the third FCS school in as many years that Virginia Tech will open against, joining VMI (Sept. 5, 2026) and The Citadel (Aug. 28, 2027). It will mark the fourth straight year with an FCS opponents for Virginia Tech, joining the VMI and The Citadel games, plus Wofford in 2025. The Hokies have won their last 13 games against FCS opponents; their last game against one was the aforementioned Wofford game in 2025, an affair they won 38-6.

At the time of writing, three games are confirmed for Virginia Tech's 2028 schedule: Gardner-Webb will open the schedule on Aug. 26, before Virginia Tech hosts Liberty a week later on Sept. 2. The Hokies also have a Nov. 4 showdown set against Notre Dame, which is an independent school in football but an ACC member in most other sports.

The addition of the season-opening clash with Gardner-Webb means that Virginia Tech's 2028 non-conference schedule is now full. Ahead of this season, the ACC increased its conference schedule to nine games; since the conference contains 17 teams, several teams are playing eight games this season, while others are playing nine. This season, Virginia Tech has a nine-game ACC schedule and a three-game non-conference slate (VMI, Old Dominion and Maryland).

Virginia Tech originally had a pair of Maryland games in 2027 and 2028 that were axed off the schedule in favor of the FCS games due to the nine-game ACC conference slate. The Hokies previously had games scheduled against both Maryland and Old Dominion for the 2028 schedule. Both were axed off the schedule; Virginia Tech announced the cancellation of its 2028 game with Old Dominion (plus the 2027, 2029 and 2031 games) in July 2025, while the Maryland cancellation (2027, 2028 games) was announced in May 2026. Virginia Tech will still play Maryland in 2026 and 2029, and Old Dominion in 2026 and 2030.

Virginia Tech's 2026 season opens in just over a week on Saturday, Sept. 5, against VMI at Lane Stadium. Should the Hokies win their first matchup against the Keydets since the 1984 season, it will increase their winning streak over FCS schools to 14 games.